Phife Dawg Hoping A Tribe Called Quest Documentary Will Lead to Fresh Reunion

April 28, 2011 (6:12 pm) GMT

Rap veteran Phife Dawg is hoping the release of an upcoming documentary about A Tribe Called Quest will inspire the founding members of the iconic hip-hop group to 'come to their senses'.

The "Bonita Applebum" hitmakers Phife Dawg made a live comeback in 2006, eight years after their initial break-up, and they have played a string of tour dates, including headlining sets at the 2008 and 2010 Rock the Bells festival series since.

But members Phife, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White have been split by actor/director Michael Rapaport's "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest", which tells the story of the band's rise to fame.

The project has been embroiled in controversy since Q-Tip spoke out against the movie after reports of a feud over production credits.

Phife was the only member in attendance when the documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January, but he was joined by Muhammad when it was screened at New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday.

And he's keeping his fingers crossed that Q-Tip and White will soon follow in Muhammad's footsteps and put any issues about the film behind them for the sake of their fans.

Speaking before the Tribeca premiere, Phife admitted he was pleasantly surprised to see his bandmate on the red carpet.

Phife told WENN, "I'm glad to see him here. I spoke to him earlier today and I didn't even know he'd be here, but I'm glad to see him so that's a step in the right direction for the rest of the group."

"We gotta take it (reconciliation) one day at a time. I hope it starts with this movie. Hopefully it will propel us to come to our senses as a unit."